UAFS Academy Of The Arts To Present ‘Disney’s Beauty And The Beast Jr.’

That’s the belief of Shannon Stoddard, who is directing the new production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.” this month. Staged by members of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s Academy of the Arts, the drama will entertain and thrill every audience member at 7 p.m. Dec. 14-15 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 15-16 at UAFS’ Breedlove Auditorium, 5210 Grand Ave., she said.

“I think ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is one of those classic fairy tales that everyone loves,” Stoddard said. “The old and the young just love the story.”

The show features two of the academy’s companies, the Academy Playerz and the Academy Playerz Too, which showcases area children in grades 3-6. The event is part of the academy’s ShowTime Series and will show the strengths of both theater groups, Stoddard said.

“One cast has 30 children in it, and the other cast has 24 children, but there’s nothing difficult at all about staging between two casts,” she said.

“The only difficult part, really, was getting the kids, at first, to understand that they are enchanted objects — a candlestick, a tea cup, things like that — and getting them to know how to act as an object like that was a little hard,” Stoddard added. “But now these kids are doing great. These kids know the story well, and they have been able to add their own flavor to it, which makes it great.”

Stoddard said she, musical director Sheila Mann and choreographer Jennifer Woodside Anderson have learned a few new things during recent rehearsals.

“I love that the students are learning to put together a show, and to watch their faces while they do this is really good,” she said. “I’ve had some of these kids now for three years, and they have come a really long way. These kids have great ideas and are so much fun.”

Each performance will offer a well-rounded view of what the academy offers for young theater fans, said Rosilee Walker Russell, executive director for the academy.

“It’s rewarding to see the students when they get on stage,” she said.

Russell predicted that many of the academy students will pursue theater and other art forms in the future.

“These kids we have just love theater,” she said. “They don’t want to get off the stage. They would stay on the stage and sing, act and dance 24 hours a day if you let them. Theater just sticks with them.”

Stoddard agreed.

“I always love it when it’s a student’s first time to be in a show,” she said. “The parents are so excited that the student found theater, because maybe sports isn’t that student’s thing. But the kids come here and they embrace singing, dancing and production, and they find their niche.”

The show is part of the academy’s ShowTime Series and features the Academy Playerz and the Academy Playerz Too groups. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the UAFS box office in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center and at www.ticketsage.com/uafs. Tickets also will be sold at the door.